Improvement in corn and cotton-seed planters



diluted Cguichet DAVIDE. HOLT, 0F WILKINSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI.

Letters Patent N 96,323, dated .November 2, 18.69.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID E. HoLT, of Wilkinson county, State 0f Mississippi, have invented a certain new, useful, and improved Combined Cotton Seed and Corn-Planter; and I do hereby declare the following to be a iilll, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a pzutof this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of' my said combined planter. y

Figure 2, a longitudinal section of the recipient for the seed to be planted, or hopper thereof, in which most of the parts connected therewith arevshown; and A Figure 3, a detached view of one of the adjustable supplemental sides of the hopper.

My object is to embody, in one machine, the necessary means f'or convertingitinto a cotton-seed o'rcornplanter, as the one or the other may be needed, by a simple adjustment ot' its parts,.and thus to relieve the agriculturist, who plants both cotton aml corn, of the heavy expense of' purchasing, and having ou hand, two distinct machines; and y My invention consists ofl theV combination of a seed carrier, or hopper, having adjustable sides,with a stivrer-shaft, that passes through the same, of' novel construction., and appointments, for agitating the seed, whether it be cotton-seed or corn, to prevent the packing thereof in said hopper; a cylindrical revolving shaft., which also passes through said hopper, and is perfbrated around its circumference with a number of' shallow cup-like recesses for receiving and dropping a given mnnber ot' grains of'corn at proper or prescribed intervals apart; and a novel arrangementor adjustmentof certain mechanical parts, for opera-ting said stirrer and,corn-planting cylinder, the whole being secured onasuitable'fiame, mounted on a. single wheel, having a broad tread or tire, to

press down the earth on the seed after it has beenv planted.

But my invention will be better understood by referring to the drawings, in which the same letters dcnote the same parts'at all the figures.

A, B, and C, constitute the i'rame and handles of the machine, the former being divided at its rear end, to receive the wheel D and a cog-wheel, E, 'substantially as shown at fig. 1. l lhere is 'nothing peculiar about any of` these parts, which may be constructed precisely as shown on the drawings, or in any other suitable manner which taste, fancy, or convenience may dictate.

On the beam A is secured a seed-carrier, or hopper-,.F, which, in all external regards, may be constructed and formed' very much in the sameway as 'any ordinary hopper of a seeding-machine. But

inside this hopper the construction and arrangement are whollyditerent, for it. will be seen that I introduce, on two of` its sides,-opposite to each other, supplemental adjustable sides, a b, which I securein any given position therein by means of screw-bolts cc', or some otherequivalent mechanical instrumentality. These duplicate supplemental sides, (t I), have each a vertical cleft, or opening d, as shown by fig. 3, in order that they may straddle the stirrer-shaf't "l, and then pass down to the bottom of the hopper, as shown at iig. 2, and are, moreover, provided with two nari-mv strips, c c', each, which, heilig pivoted at 'their upper ends to the said sides, as shown, afford a. means of' expanding or diminishing the width thereof', by being moved outwardly or inwardly, as the case may be, and

thus ofcovering the open spaces at their sides, which must necessarily make their appearance inl consequence of' their adjustment at dliierent angles, -tosult the diti'erent conditions ot' cotton-seed and corn-planting, as will hereafter bemore clea-rlyseen.

The stirrer-shaf't G is secured vin proper journals, that are fixed in thesides of' the hopper, at its front and rear, the same being marked gand f on the drawing, in such manner that there is a sufficient projection ot' it, outside the hopper, toward the rear of' the machine, to receive a cog-pinion, 7i, which is permanently fastened on it.

Within the hopper this shaft-Gis made either square, hexagonal, oroctagonal, so as to secure the rotation of the stirrer-arms fi, whenever it, the said shaft, is ro' tated, and yet to permit them to be fitted so loosely on said shaft asto be readily slipped or moved longitudinally thereon. c

At the bottom ofthe hopper A', precisely under and in line with shaft G, is adjusted a corn-planting cylinder,

H, which also extends outside the hopper', at its rear l.

side, to receive -a pinion, j, which meshes into pinion h, as shown, and still to project several inches beyond said pinion.

In this latter projecting part of' the cylinder H is made a hollow sleeve-.like recipient for the end of a shaft, I, which, for a few. inches back from its extreme end, is reduced in' sizeor diametenas shown at iig. 2, so as to'enter said opening in the end of' the said cylinder H. The form of' said openingqas well as the reduced termimrtioul of theshat't I, may be of` any form in its transverse section, which will-prevent the latter ii'orn turning in the former, or which will cause the rotation of' the cylinder H by a rotation of the said'shaf't I. j

The shaft I is secured on the beam A in such manner as to have a limited endwise reciprocating moven'lent, and on its rear -end is permanently mounted a pinion, k,.wh'ich gears or takes into the cogs of' wheel E whenever the said shaft Iv is placed in must obviously, by rotating the cog-wheel E, put both the stirrer-shaft G and the cylinder H in motion, through the agency of the intermediate parts, pinion k, shaft I, and pinions j and h. But the shaft I having an endwise movement, its reduced front, termina ting section, or extremity, may be thrown deeper into 'the recess in cylinder H, by simply moving it forward a few inches, and thus the pinion k willbe thrown.

outside the circle ofcogs on wheel E, and hence ont of connection with the same, so lthat the shaft I, aswell as the cylinder H andr stirrer-shaft G, will cease to move, whether the machine is moving or not.

1n order to move the shaft I backward and forward,i.

I fix ou it, in any proper manner, an upright standard, J, to which Iattach, by a pivot-joint, a hand-lever, L,

in which I cut two notches, l on., as shown by dotted lines through the rear handle C ofthe machine, at iig. l. By moving this lever L forward until the rear notch lcomes over a cross-bar between the handles (l, the shaft I is thrown forward suiiiiently'to disconnect the pinionk and cog-wheel E, and hold them out of gear as long` as desired. By drawing back the said lever until the front notch m comes over said crossbar, the connection of pinion 7a and cogfwheel Eis reestablshed, and all the parts put'into gear with each other. Avery obvious modification of this arrangement would be so to adjust thcparts as to throw the shatt I entirely out of connection with the cylinder H, and the pinion k within the circle of Vcogs on wheel E, but I do not think this would be as good an arrange- `ment as that I have just described. p

A suitable aperture through the beam A, below the hopper F, for the passage of the cotton-seed or corn, as the case might be, leads into a shoe, M, which is placed close behind a trench-opening plow, N, in such l manner that the seed will fall directly into the centre of the trench made by said plow.

Oneach Aside of the beam A, a little behind shoe M, a covering-plow, O, of any approved pattern, is placed, substantially as shown at tig. l.

NVhen the machine is to be used as a cotton-seed planter, the supplemental interior side b of the hopper Fis withdrawn, and the opposite side a. is moved,at its lower end, close upto the cotton-seed-delivering wheel p, so as to completely cover the corn-delivering cupformed recesses in cylinder H, and then the strips c a" are moved outwardly, so as to` cover the openings which are necessarily developed by 'the change of the angle at which said side a has been placed. This ad jnstment requires that the stirrers, or agitating-arlns i, shall be moved on shaft G, care being taken to pre serve proper intervals of space between them,snntil one of them is brought directly over the delivering- .wheel 1). When, on thecontrary, corn is to be planted, both thc supplemental sides a, and bare used, the adjustment of them heilig substantially as shown at fig. 2, which, it will be perceived, completely covers over the cotton-seed-delivering wheel p, and thus prevents any part of the corn from coming within its action.

Y Having` thus described my invention,v I

`What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat entis 1. The supplemental adjustable sides a b with the hopper F, when the latter is provided with strrcrshaft G and cylinder H, substantially as hei-eindescribed, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination ot' the hopper F, when provided with supplemental adjustable sides a b,'\vith the shaft I, and its adjuncts and the gearing connected therewith, when all the parts'are arranged and operate substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

Witnesses: D. E. HOLT.

RUFUs R. Rnonns, H. N. JENKINS. 

